1 IN 100 S. FLORIDA MOMS TESTING POSITIVE FOR HIV

TALLAHASSEE -- South Florida mothers are three times more likely to test HIV-positive than those living in all 64 other counties, a new state study shows.

Figures released by the state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services show that nearly one out of every 100 women who give birth in Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties are likely to be HIV-infected.

During the study cycle, Palm Beach County had the highest HIV-positive rate (0.96 percent), followed by Dade (0.94 percent) and then Broward (0.92 percent). The state's remaining 64 counties had a combined rate of 0.35 percent.

About 30 percent of the babies born to HIV-positive mothers ultimately become infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

Results also show that black child-bearing women in Florida are almost eight times more likely to be infected with HIV than white women.

"Tragically, Florida has had nearly 700 pediatric AIDS cases since the epidemic began -- second only to New York State," said state Health Officer Dr. Charles Mahan. "There's no doubt that AIDS has permeated the heterosexual community in Florida and that's why we must continue educating women."

The latest HRS study covered women who gave birth from October 1991 through March 1992. During that time, 269 of the 49,500 women who had babies in Florida were infected with HIV -- the highest percentage since HRS began its study in 1988. Most of the infected women lived in South Florida.

The number of women giving birth to HIV-infected infants has been steadily rising for four years. In 1988, one out of every 222 Florida women who gave birth was infected with the AIDS virus. The statewide average is now one out of 182.

Palm Beach County was one of the first counties in the nation to have a high rate of heterosexual transmission, said Jean Malecki, Palm Beach County's health director. Many of the cases are centered in the Belle Glade area, where up to 7 percent of the women attending county maternity clinics have AIDS.

"But we have indications that there is a noticeable change in the behavior patterns," she said, crediting education programs paid for by local, state and national grants. "The disease is beginning to plateau."

AIDS activists, meanwhile, are not surprised by the state's findings.

"What happened to the gay community for the past 10 or 12 years is now happening to the heterosexual community," said Bryon Patt, founder of AIDS, Inc., a Broward-based educational group. "What's frightening is that people still don't realize what's happening. They still think it's a gay disease."

Richard Greenberg, president of the People With AIDS Coalition said, more education is needed in all communities.

"AIDS is a disease of people, not lifestyles," he said. "We shouldn't be targeting this or that risk group. There is nobody in the county, state or country who is not at risk."

The study, coordinated forby? the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, is based on anonymous testing of "leftover blood" drawn for other purposes.